The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed a criminal revision filed by the State, holding that nothing survived for consideration after the accused were already acquitted in the main case. Justice Sanjay Parihar ruled that the challenge to denial of police remand had lost relevance once the trial itself concluded.
The order was pronounced on January 30, 2026, closing a case that had remained pending for more than a decade.
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Background of the Case
The case arose from FIR No. 100 of 2005, registered for serious offences including murder, attempt to murder, rioting, and illegal use of arms. After investigation, the police filed a charge-sheet against multiple accused persons.
While several accused faced trial, three of them - Dhanwanter Singh and others - remained absconding. Proceedings against them continued under Section 512 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows trial-related steps against absconders.
In August 2013, the trial court acquitted the accused who had faced the trial. The State challenged that acquittal before the High Court through a separate appeal, which was still pending.
Surrender of Absconding Accused and Remand Request
In January 2014, the absconding accused surrendered before the trial court. Soon after, the prosecution sought police remand, arguing that custodial interrogation was necessary to conduct further investigation and to file a supplementary charge-sheet clarifying their specific role in the crime.
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However, the Sessions Judge, Jammu, dismissed the request for police remand on March 6, 2014. This rejection became the subject of the present criminal revision filed by the State.
Court’s Observations
The High Court noted that despite filing the revision in March 2014, the State showed little urgency in pursuing it. For over ten years, the matter remained pending without effective service upon the respondents.
More importantly, the court observed that after surrender, the accused were formally charged, pleaded not guilty, and opted to adopt the evidence already recorded during the earlier trial.
“The record shows that after adoption of evidence, the respondents were acquitted on the same material on which the co-accused had already been acquitted,” the bench observed.
The High Court also pointed out a crucial procedural lapse. There was no formal request by the investigating agency seeking police custody or supplementary investigation.
“The Public Prosecutor, without any such request from the police, had no independent authority to seek police remand under Section 167 CrPC,” the court said.
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Why the Revision Failed
Justice Parihar explained that once the charge-sheet was filed, it implied that custodial interrogation was no longer considered necessary by the investigating agency.
Additionally, since the respondents had already been acquitted by the trial court on March 19, 2014, the earlier order rejecting police remand had merged into the final judgment.
“In view of the subsequent acquittal, the impugned order lost its independent existence, rendering the present revision infructuous,” the court noted.
The State also failed to show whether the acquittal of the respondents had been separately challenged.
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Final Decision
Finding no legal ground to interfere, the High Court dismissed the criminal revision along with the connected application. The trial court record was directed to be returned.
Case Title: State of J&K vs. Dhanwanter Singh & Others
Case No.: CRR No. 17/2014
Decision Date: 30 January 2026
